Ardens Corpus
by Ivisbo
Summary: The fire destoryed everything for him and left him empty, but he cant give it up. Like a drug he clings to it. Can he learn to control the flame or will is devour him entirely? Grimm/Ichi, slight X-Men theme.
1. Chapter 1

Well...Im trying to get back in the swing of things, so this is a story thats been sitting around that I cleaned up for you all. Hopefully the gets me off the hook for how horribly I updated Apocalyptic? I PROMISE that will be updated soon, I just need to watch some zombie stuff and I will be inspired.

This story is slightly inspired by X-Men, but more leans towards my own spin on it. You'll see some influences from it, but Im trying to make this my own story as much as possible. Ichigo wasnt even the original character for the Burning Boy but I wanted to post it on here so I tweaked a few things.

I hope you all enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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**Prologue- The Burning Boy**

He sat, crunching on the stolen Halloween candy from his sister's room and staring at the TV screen in front of him. The speakers were on low so he sat as close as possible to the screen to hear it.

"Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may" Tyler Durden gushed from the screen as Fight Club played. The eight year old boy's eyes widened as a guy was punched in the face, blood flying across the screen. He yelped, but slammed his hand over his mouth in time for anything loud to escape his lips.

He glanced up towards the stair case, where his family slept soundly. His mother would kill him if she found out he was still up, let alone watching TV. That he was watching an R rated movie wouldn't help his case anymore either.

Suddenly the screen flickered and shut off, causing the room to be bathed in darkness. A single light came from the kitchen to his left, a soft glow of illumination.

An eight year old boy, with bright hair the color of an orange, stood from his criss-crossed position and stared at the single tea light that now rested on the kitchen counter. He walked towards it slowly, bare feet stepping lightly on the plush cream carpet below. The boy had seen fire before, but at this moment he was transfixed. It was like the world had frozen around him and narrowed onto that glowing candle, with the single flickering light of warmth illuminating the tabletop in a faint yellowish light. He stared at it, how the wind made it sway and how the smoke drifted up in soft, silky tendrils. His young, chocolate brown eyes reflected the small light, wide open in amazement and wonder. Nothing this spectacular had ever come into his life and as he stared at it, something grew inside of him.

He reached his hand forward, the compulsion to touch the flame burning in him so hard that it was almost like the fire was whispering to him, calling him into its warm embrace. He leaned forward on the linoleum countertop of his family's kitchen, hovered a single finger over the warmth and then dipped it down to pass through the fire.

His finger crossed through the flame and like dripping water from a faucet, the fire clung to him as he pulled away. The tendrils of flame grew on his hand, not burning but simply heating him with an oddly familiar and comforting feeling. But still he let out a shriek and waved his hand as the fire moved up from his finger to cover his arm. The eight year old swung his limbs frantically, screaming as the fire moved up to his shoulder. He fell to the floor, smacking the ground with a crackle of flames and another shriek of surprise. The fire spread over his chest and as he lay trying not to hyperventilate. Where the fire now touched the floor erupted in flames, eating away at the carpet hungrily. He was unaware of this though, his sole focus in trying to wipe the flames from himself. This only caused them to grow more and soon his whole upper half was completely aflame.

Around him, the living room was slowly filling with smoke as the fire grew across the floor to the furniture. The smoke didn't affect him though, nor did the heat. It was like the fire that now almost completely covered him was protecting him and although he was terrified, he was also comfortable. But he still screamed at the flames, trying in vain to scrap it away from his young skin. When the fire finally reached his head, his voice turned into the crackling of fire and his eyes into brightly burning sockets akin to the sun.

Shrieks from upstairs sounded now that the smoke had worked its way up the staircase. The whole downstairs was aflame, both the kitchen and living room. He heard his mother and father trying to escape their bedroom, but the smoke was more than likely filling the hallway upstairs as well. His younger sisters were screaming as well, beating on their door frantically. The boy's screams died down as he finally understood what was happening; he had caused this, his family was trapped, they needed help.

The boy jumped to his burning feet, his flaming hair flickering like the top of the candle had, and ran through the blazing room to the stair case. He climbed the stairs as fast as he could, only to reach the top just as the roof came crashing down in front of him. He screamed and crouched away from the debris that now blocked his path to his family.

"MOMMY" A crackly scream tore from his chest, his sun bright eyes widening even farther. The screams beyond the debris started to falter, become wore of a strangled cough than anything else. He could hear his dog barking frantically from his bedroom, his sister's tiny fists pounding on their door. The house groaned and then something snapped above him. A beam crashed down along the hallway, but before it reached him he jumped backwards. The boy flew down the stairs, his body flailing as he tried to get grab onto anything.

Instead of smashing into the ground as he would, he landed on something soft and warm. The fire below him had reached up to soften his blow and instead of hitting the burning floor he had become one with the flames for a moment. He retched himself free, the body of a boy once again forming out of the burning mass. He looked back upstairs and saw that the whole roof had caved in and was continuing to fall apart around him.

"They're gone" A fractured whisper escaped him. His chest squeezed in pain and suddenly a hollow scream burst out of him. The sea of flame around him rose up to match his roar of pain, devouring more of the house.

Just then, sirens sounded from outside, coming closer to the burning house.

His screamed continued until it turned into a chocking cry and suddenly he was being pulled towards to back door. The flames around him were moving his body for him, creating a path to his escape.

It was his fault, his fault this had happened. His life was gone, his family was gone.

The burning boy escaped out the back, leaving a smoldering trail of ash and flame in his path as he ran into the night.

**Ten Years Later**

Ichigo clutched the glass in front of him, his black hoodie pulled low over his head to hide his way-too-bright hair. He kept his eyes low, knowing the odd glow they sometimes had if people looked at him to long. Around him, the bar was loud, screams of joy and laughter bursting through the static noise of drunk voices. The bartender stood behind the bar to his left, cleaning off glasses and looking like he had had a few drinks as well.  
Ichigos rum and coke was low and he needed a refill, but a quick check to his pocket showed that he was, once again, broke. He sighed, a sound he was becoming quite used to. Being in a dingy bar like this was hard enough but being sober as well? Hell no.

He stood, towering over the giggling woman to his left at his height of 5'11. He kept his shoulder slouched and his hands in his pockets, trying to draw the least amount of attention to himself. It was obvious that the two girls had been working up the nerve to talk to him, but he was having none of that. He could feel their eyes watching him longingly as he stalked as fast as he could out of the bar.  
He passed by a table of very large, very drunk men with various forms of facial hair. Right as he was passing a man with very badly manicured muttonchops, the man scooted back and blocked his escape.

"Hey buddy" The large man slurred, his glazed eyes meeting Ichigos, "I got a question fer ya"  
Ichigo flickered his eyes across the table, trying his best not to make eye contact. The man stood up when he didn't answer right away, his size blocking Ichigo's escape even more.

"I said, I gotta question fer ya bud" His tone showed he was more than drunk and by the looks of it an angry drunk.

Ichigo gulped and glanced up at him, "Y-yeah?"

"Why's it that a kid like you gets the women all over em but ya don't even spar them a second glance, yet were open fer business and they never come knockin'? I saw ya deny those pretty girls over there, and I have to say, yer a real ass. Ya think your better then all of us?"

For the love of god of course this would happen to him. Not to mention the girls hadn't said one word to him. Christ…  
Ichigo held back to string of foul language he wanted to shoot off at this guy and simply took a step back, "I just have work in the morning and I really need to get going so if-"

"I think ya have an att-attitude problem bud" Mottonchop man said, poking Ichigo in the chest for emphasis, "And what's with the hood, take it off!"  
Ichigo felt his hood being ripped off from behind him and whirled to see another one of the drunk men standing behind him, this one equipped with a pubby looking goatee.

"Look at that hair! Man I haven't seen something like that before!" The other man said, his grin growing wide, "Kinda pretty for a man aren't ya?"  
Ichigo's eyes widened as they closed in around him, blocking him from either side. He breathed deeply, trying to remain in control. He could feel the warmth inside him, his eyes glowed a bit brighter. He squeezed them closed, shutting himself inside to remain calm. Please don't hurt anyone please don't hurt anyone please don't hurt any-

"Leave him alone will ya?"

Ichigo opened his eyes to see a man with wavy shoulder length brown hair and a cowboy hat standing on the other side of the drunk men's table. He was handsome, with a tired look in his grey eyes. He was in full cowboy get-up, down to the boots with spurs. If it weren't for the situation Ichigo might think it was a little funny.

"Why in the world would we listen ta you Brokeback?" One of the men said and Ichigo had a hard time holding back his eye roll. The whole table let out loud ridiculous laughter, but Ichigo couldn't stop thinking that this guy had just said his bright orange hair was beautiful…

The cowboy let out a tired sigh and pulled out a gleaming silver revolver, pointing it at the men with a hard gleam in his eyes, "Please don't make me do something stupid"

Goatee man seemed to understand and slowly back up, but Mutton-chops wasn't getting it.  
"Yer not gonna use that, probably doesn't have any bullets in it. Come on, shoot me, I dare yeah"

It took about two seconds for Ichigo to realize what was about to happen. He couldn't react or do anything to stop it, and he only had enough time to work out his escape before the cowboy pulled the trigger.  
The bullet whizzed between Ichigo and Mutton-chops, hitting the wall being them with astounding precision. But that wasn't what Ichigo was worried about; it was the sparks that erupted from the old gun. Fire.

Fire always found its way to him, like mosquitoes to a light. If he was in any room it always leaned towards him, but free falling fire always made it to him. So instead of falling to the ground like sparks should, they flew across the table and erupted against the exposed skin on Ichigo's face. It never hurt, only covered him in a warm feeling. Like being submerged into warm bath water. Even though the sparks had only been flecks when they had hit them, it only took five seconds for them to eat away the rest of his flesh and expose the molten core underneath. He lit up like the sun, his whole body burning and causing the room to go into an uproar.

Luckily he was prepared, having been in these kind of situations weekly for the past ten years. Ichigo jumped on the table, leaving burning foot prints where ever he touched. He leapt over the men sitting, avoiding their heads my inches. Ichigo sprinted towards the door, the flames trailing behind him as he ran. Luckily the door handle was metal, so throwing the door open had no risk of burning the place down. He just hoped people were smart enough to put out his footprints before they ate away too much of that old wood the bar was made out of.  
It was snowing outside, coming close to blizzard status. His flames burned brightly still, but instead of smoke steam was sizzling off him. He wouldn't last long like this and he was in such a rush that he had forgotten his bag. There was nothing important in it, everything he cared for left him ten years ago. But he needed a change of clothes and the weather would kill him before he made it to the next town.

At the end of the parking lot was a black pickup truck with a horse trailer attached. The truck bed was empty except for a few tarps which Ichigo grabbed as he ran by. He threw them over himself, suffocating the flames almost instantly. The warmth that he loved so much faded, leaving him feeling empty, freezing, and depressed. The tarp was cold against his naked body, causing him to begin shivering as the freezing temperatures set in.  
Crouched behind the truck, he watched as the bar emptied out and the fire trucks appeared. People started leaving very quickly, although none came close to the truck. Ichigo glanced at the truck bed, knowing it would be warmer then the ankle deep snow he was currently freezing to death in. He stood and climbed in, laying low and covering himself with another tarp. He felt somewhat better and only wished he could re-light and feel that comforting warmth again. But all fire did to others was destroy, so he kept it at bay. His shivers were starting to feel like a seizure, but he knew as long as his body was still able to shiver he was not going to die.

Twenty minutes later he was unable to feel his legs and arms and was slowly beginning to black out. He forced himself to stay awake, knowing he would need to climb out of the truck soon enough. But he couldn't move his muscles, couldn't feel them, couldn't…he was okay with this, he should die, he deserved it…  
His mind faded then, leaving only darkness behind.

He woke up to surprising warmth and the low drawl of a country song. His legs and arms were cramped, but otherwise he could feel them and they seemed intact. He opened his eyes slowly and was met with the sight of a truck cab. He sat up instantly, the large blankets surrounding him falling low to reveal his bare chest.

"Your up, good. Feelin' any better?" A voice said from next to him, startling him.

He whirled to face the man, his eyes widening at the sight of the cowboy that had saved him. He stared for a good ten seconds before the man chuckled.

"No need to thank me or anything"

"T-thank you" Ichigo mumbled, his voice rough as always after he Burned.

The cab grew silent for a moment, the only sounds coming from the windshield wipers as they cleaned away the heavy snowfall. Ichigo was uncomfortable, a million questions to ask. Well that was a lie, he really only had one…

"Why?"

The man didn't reply right away, his light grey eyes remaining focused on the road.  
"Why not?"

For some reason the man's reply angered Ichigo, his signature frown forming across his brow, "Seriously, why would you save me? After what I did…after what you saw I could do"

The man turned his attention from the road to give Ichigo a leveled stare that held so much wisdom he instantly wondered how old this man was. He looked no older then 30, but his eyes were so deep…"What you did wasn't yer fault. Seems like you just have an unfortunate curse that you have to live with. No reason I shouldn't help you. You did your best to not hurt anyone"

"But could still hurt you"

The cowboy let out a low chuckle, "Fire wouldn't hurt me, don't worry about it" That single line left Ichigo confused, but the cowboys tone signaled finality so he didn't push it.

"What's your name?" Ichigo asked, quelling his questions to the most simple of them.

"Coyote Stark, what's yours kid?"

Ichigo" It had been a long time since he had shared his real name with anyone, so he held back on the last name. Just in case this man somehow was around for all the newspaper headlines about the Korusakis.

"Well, now that were acquainted, you want to know where were going?"

Ichigo frowned at him, the thought having not even passed through his mind. He looked out the window and was met with only snow and trees, so he had no clue of their location.

"Where?"

Stark glanced at him, a small smirk forming on his face, "Let's just say you aren't the only person with problems in this world"

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Before anyone starts complaining about Ichigo's OCness, ya gotta remember that he lost everything. And it was his fault. If this were to happen to real Ichigo I dont even think he would function anymore.  
Also, Im writing this off the fly so I have no clue where I am going with this. I do know I want Grimmjow in here, cause I love him so much, but Shiro is going to deffiently he in here as well. No clue which I will swing for when the time comes.  
Anyways, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! It honestly makes me want to do stuff way more and stops me from forgetting, which will happen without reminders :)


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah another chapter in less then a week! You can thank the horrible weather this Summer is bringing and my comeplete lack of want to be outside in it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy...

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

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**Chapter Two- Home**

It was well past midnight by the time Stark stopped the car and hopped out. Ichigo had been dozing, but he snapped to alertness as soon as the man started opening a rusted looking gate, the headlights drowning the area in an eerie sort of light.  
Ichigo looked around, suddenly aware they were practically underground. The truck was sitting in a sort of driveway leading to a large sewer entrance. The gate blocking the way was old, rusted, and practically falling apart. The snow had stopped falling a couple hours ago but now the road was covered in a thick fog that left Ichigo with a worried pit in his stomach.

"Where are we going?" Ichigo asked for the fifth time that night when Stark jumped back in the cab. His chocolate brown eyes never left the dark entrance in front of them.

Stark chuckled and shook his head, "You'll see, I told you I wasn't tellin' ya anything"

Ichigo huffed and crossed his arms, pulling the jacket Stark had leant him over himself. Stark had also let him borrow some dark sweatpants, but they did little to warm him. The jacket was an old dark green army jacket with 'Coyote' stamped across the front. Once again, as with everything with Stark, the jacket left him with more questions. The car rumbled forward, the headlights filled the tunnel brightly, but it was the sort of light that left long shadows and scary shapes. Ichigo did not frighten easily, but this was enough to leave him with shivers.  
As soon as Stark had pulled the truck and trailer into the tunnel he jumped out ad re-closed the gate, locking it with a rusted chain and bolt. Ichigo was silent when he jumped back in the car, trusting that Stark knew what he was doing. He trusted Stark after only a few hours, which want something Ichigo took lightly. There was something about the man that left him at ease and he knew the man would do ntohing to harm him. The car jerked forward and started down the tunnel, a whinny from the horse in Starks trailer echoing off the walls.

"Your bringing the horse down here?" Ichigo asked after a moment, the silence making him uncomfortable.

Stark nodded, tilting his cowboy hat back so he could see better in the dim light, "She's used to it, I've made a place big enough for her. And no more questions, you'll see when we get there"

Ichigo sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs out before the cramped too bad. The truck trudged down the tunnel for a good 20 minutes before Ichigo noticed any signs of life. The first thing was large Warning signs posted on either side of the tunnel, with nuclear symbols underneath them. He wanted to ask what they meant, but he kept quiet knowing Stark would not answer. Following the signs was a fork in the road, each path looking dark and gloomy. The one straight ahead had a lot of water on the deepest part of it and looked pretty much un-used. The two to the side continued like the one they had been on, although they were much dark and looked to curve to the right a little.

"Okay, one thing to remember. Never go left" Stark spoke up for the first time as he continued forward into the two-foot water filled tunnel. Ichigo opened his mouth to ask way, but shut it with one side ways glance from the cowboy. The car was tall enough to only have its wheels slightly covered by the gross brown liquid, but it still sloshed as he drove on. Ten minutes later, a street light appeared before them. It was old styled and looked like something you would find on the streets of London in the eightieth century. As they drew closer Ichigo noticed that it was not lit with a bulb or electricity, but a flame. The fire flickered and leaned towards his window as they passed, the flame reaching for him like a lost friend. Ichigo turned back forward quickly, ignoring Starks slight glance.  
The tunnel took a sharp turn right a half mile after the street light, and then there was a large empty space. As the headlights of the car illuminated the area, Ichigo noticed it wasn't comepletly empty. There was large fenced off area on the far corner and cllomns that held up the roof running downt he center. The water ended and was instead replaced by solid concrete, although the fenced off area was covered in soft dirt. The walls on either side were concrete like the floor, but the wall on the opposite end was entirely brick. As they neared, wall lights flickered on on either side of them, lighting as they passed. The fire illuminated the area in a warm way, softening the harshness of the headlights.

Stark pulled the truck over by the fenced off area, which Ichigo now presumed was for his horse. He turned off the car and immediately hooped out, glancing back at Ichigo with a raised eyebrow and a bemused smirk, "Are yeah gonna sit there a gawk all night or hop out?"

Ichigo glared at him and rolled his eyes, but jumped out of the car as fast as he could. He stretched his arms over his shoulders, enjoying the popping of his joints. He looked around again, amazed that there was such a large open space underground. It was a donwer that it held up the earth above them

Stark appeared on Ichigo's side of the truck, his horse now free of the trailer and trailing behind him. She was white with the occasional speckled grey pattern with dark brown eyes. Her main was golden blonde, the light of the fire making it almost appear orange. The horse nickered at Ichigo when she spotted him, nudging her nose against Starks shoulder lovingly as she eyed him.

"Ichigo meet Lilynette" Stark's rumbled out, his accent coming out even more with his horse around, "She says that she thinks your hair is interesting"

Ichigo laughed, "Well I was just admiring your hair Lilynette, thanks" He wanted to ask if the horse had actually said that, but Ichigo had learned that he would get nowhere with asking questions from Stark. Better let things unfold when it came to him.  
Stark walked around to a gate that led into the fenced off area and let Lilynette free inside. He watched her for a moment, his back to Ichigo. Ichigo was struck with the sudden feeling that Stark was a lot older then he looked, the way his shoudlers slouched forward and his body screamed tired. The scene, the dark lighting witht he pure white horse and her cowboy watching her gallop around, was oddly beautiful. Ichigo was snapped out of his reverie as Stark turned sharpely, his body coming back to life once more.

"What do you think then?" Stark asked, holding his arms out to the area. Ichigo took a couple steps away from the truck and looked around at the large empty space, then turned back to Stark.

"I mean, it's cool, but I was expecting more people"

Stark chuckled, tilting his hat down to cover the grin on his face, "Yeah, I figured. Well are you ready for surprise two?"

Ichigo frowned at him, nodding stubbornly. Stark walked away from the fence towards the brick wall, his hand running along the red stone until he reached the center. He kicked his boot against the wall at the same time as he pressed on a brick with his right hand. Suddenly, the wall crumbled and began moving. Stark took a step back as the wall broke apart right in front of him and crackled apart. The bricks were eaten away on either side to reveal a simple dark wooden door, the golden doorknob gleaming in the fire light.

Ichigo was sure that he looked like a fish the way he was gapping at Stark. How in the world had he just done that? Stark had implied that there were others like him, but he was expecting something along the lines of what he can do with fire, not god-damn Harry Potter wizard shit!

"You coming?" Stark asked as he opened up the door, letting out a soft light from inside. Ichigo walked forward and looked into the comfortable lounge. The walls were a deep red, the floors covered by rich wood. To the left of the entry was a study filled with floor to ceiling bookshelves, leather sofas, and reclining arm chairs. On the far wall was a huge fireplace, thankfully unlit for the moment. To the right was an adjoining dining room with a huge long table and a glittering chandelier. The table was bare, but the china cabinets along the far wall signaled that it could be decorated beautifully. Along the far wall of the dining room was an old styled swinging door, the wood the same as the door they had entered from.

"Alright, you need to move a little fast or Ill slam the door on your toes" Ichigo numbly walked forward as Stark ushered him inside, numbly gazing around. As soon as the door clicked shut Ichigo could hear the bricks rumbling shut behind it. As Ichigo walked forward he gazed up the large double staircase directly infront of the entryway, the stairs complete with curling banisters on either side.  
Ichigo contiuned walking into the lounge, stroking the rich leather of the couch in wonder. He had never been in a house this perfectly furnished before and he was still in shock at how he got into it. His eyes wandered to the fireplace, which was clean except for the two dry logs waiting to be burned.

"Ill be right back, just wait here a moment" Stark said from the stiarcase. Ichigo nodded, continuing to look around the room in wonder. He could hear Starks footsteps going up the staircase and then suddenly Ichigo was alone. He walked around the couch and sat down gingerly, relishing in the comfort surrounding him. After a moment he leaned back and let it all soak in, the house, the comfort…the warmth. He glanced again at the fireplace, suddenly wishing that it wasn't so empty. Ichigo leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, his eyes heating up at the idea of flame, burning the wood, warming this place to even more perfection. If he was careful he could start only a little spark and it would simple light and eat at the wood alone…

Ichigo stood and walked towards the fireplace, crouching down and reaching in for the wood. His fingers were already a light, though he focused hard to contain it to only to his hand. Like always the warmth he felt was so intense and purely comforting that he let it grow a little, if only to feel a little more at ease. The grasped the log and lit it, happy with the sound of crackling wood. He fed his fire, watching it grow around his hand. He couldn't move, didnt want to move as he let mind grow far to warm for a coherent thought of how dangerous this was…

"What the fuck man?" A voice from behind him snapped him out of his moment and he suddenly came rushing back into himself. His whole arm was on fire and the flames in the fireplace were larger then it could contain. Ichigo stumbled back, careful to avoid touching the wooden ground with his burning limb.

Pain suddenly erupted on Ichigo's shoulder, a smothering burning sensation that he was sure others would attribute to fire. But he had never been harmed by fire before, not ever. He gapped down at his arm only to see icicles crawling down from his shoulder and hissing away his flame, smothering them. His arm hurt like nothing he had ever felt before and he almost let out a scream of pain because of it. But he held it in and looked up at the person behind him, his eyes following the han on his shoudler to a man about his age with frosty blue hair and cold cyan eyes. Ice also covered this mans hand were he was grasping Ichigo's shoulder, were the pain had begun and was contiuning to come from...

Ichigo retched himself away from the mans grasp as soon as he made the connection, crawling away from him as quick as he could.

"Hey now, no need to freak. I was just putting you out" The man said with a sarcastic grin growing on his face, revealing perfectly white teeth. He was handsome, with his strong cheekbones and long nose. His hair was styled lazily, pushed back off of his face with a couple peices of blue laying across his forhead. His clothing was what surprised Ichigo the most, even with that crazy blue hair. The wan wore a thin white tank that did nothing to hide his perfectly sculpted body and light blue coco-cola polar bear boxers. Ichigo snorted, glaring up at the weird man angrily.

"That fucking hurt! Get rid of it!" He gestured towards his icicle incased arm, the pain still smothering him and making him want to scream.

The man snorted and quirked an eyebrow, his grin still in place, "Why the hell should I? I got no clue who you are and from what I could see you were trying to set the house on fire"

Ichigo glared at him furiously, "I wasn't! I just wanted to start a fire cause it was cold" He would not mention the fact that he had gotten a little carried away…

"_Right_, I believe ya" the man scoffed and then plopped down on the couch, "I won't let yer arm go until I have a good reason ta"

"It fucking hurts" Ichigo pleaded, holding his arm out to the guy, "**Please**"

The man stared at him, his cold eyes burning into Ichigo's own. He wanted to break eye contact, feeling immensely uncomfortable with the mans pentetrating star but somehow he could not look away. The man moved so he was kneeling in front of Ichigo, never breaking eye contact. Ichigo let out a hiss of pain as he grabbed both of his shoulders, the mans hands were freezing without the ice. The ice melted away into the blue man's hand as soon as he gripped Ichigo's incased arm, freeing him of the pain. The other shoulder steamed slightly from the touch of fire against ice.

"Thank you" Ichigo murmured as soon as he was free of the ice and the man had released him, breaking eye contact.

"**Well now…**" Ichigo jumped and followed the voice over to the stiarcase, seeing Stark and another man watching then with bemused smiles. The other man was wearing a green robe and a green and white striped bucket hat, his blonde surfer like hair curling around the brim. His eyes here light blue, but unlike Ice-Man next to Ichigo, they were warm and inviting.

"HALLO ICHIGO!" The man yelled joyously, flinging his arms out as he skipped towards him, "I am Urahara Kisuke! Welcome to your new home!"

Ichigo's eye twitched with sheer annoyance as he glared at the blonde, way-too-happy man, "Uh, yeah, nice to meet you" He answered, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I see you have met Grimmjow! I know you boys will become the best of friends!" Urahara exclaimed, a fan flicking out of nowhere to cover his mouth. Ichigo glanced over at the blue haired, jumping slightly at the intensity at which he was staring into Ichigo's eyes. He looked away quickly, not wanting to get stuck in them before. "Well, it is late, and Stark woke me up to come welcome you. Shall we find you and room and get you settled then before everyone else awakens?"

Ichigo looked over at Urahara and nodded, smiling lightly,"Yeah, that would be nice I'm pretty beat"

Urahara beamed and started towards the staircase, "Well, follow me and we will get you all settled nicely!"

Ichigo followed him towards the stairs, pausing to make eye contact with Stark before he walked up them, "Thank you Stark"

Stark smiled at him lazily, "No problem Ichigo. I'll see you in the morning". Ichigo nodded and took one last look at Grimmjow, who had turned and was watching the fireplace Ichigo had lit with thoughtful eyes. He almost looked angry as he glared into the flames, making Ichigo feel a little defensive. He couldn't help that he felt like he was that fire and having those harsh blue eyes glare into them with such anger made him want to defend himself. Ichigo shook his head though and turned to follow Urahara up the staircase.  
The stairs led a room that simply led to multiple different hallways, all lined with doorways like a hotel. The walls were painted a soft green and random paintings that looked to cost over a couple million were framed in the empty spaces between the doorways. Urahara picked one of the hallways seemingly at random and walked down it, now swinging a key in his hand. He stopped before a door at the end of the hallway, unlocking it as he hummed to himself.

"And here you are!" Urahara exclaimed at the door swung open. Ichigo walked in carefully, looking around the room in awe. It was like the rest of the house, richly furnished with deep wood and thick carpet. There was a queen sized bed across from the door way, covered in a thick comforter and a handmade quilt. There were bedside table on either side of it and a dresser was against the right wall, a mirror placed over it. Next to the door way was cushioned chair with another thick blanket draped across it. The walls were all a light beige which matched the dark brown of the bedspread.

"Wow…" Ichigo murmured as he stepped inside, "How does this place even exist?"

He wasn't expecting an answer at all, but Urahara quickly spoke up, "This secret mansion was built during the late 1940's to protect the rich families of this area from the nuclear weapons they were so afraid of. It was during the 'McCarthyism' period, or the Second Red Scare which lasted till 1957. Ten families put millions into this place but then never ended up using it. I bought it off the only remaining family about nine years ago…they didn't even know they had it until I showed up with the contract" Urahara chuckled to himself and stroked his chin, which Ichigo now noticed was covered in light stubble, "The man I bought it from was the last of his line and died two years later so no one's knows of this place" Ichigo nodded and looked around, noticing the air vents and firm alarms set up. This place was probably completely impenetrable if it was a bomb shelter.

"What about the entrance?" Ichigo asked suddenly, glancing back at Urahara who grind mischievously, "All questions will be answered in due time Ichigo. Its bed time, I'm tired, you will learn more in the morning" And with that the man shut Ichigo's door and left him alone. Ichigo rolled his eyes, noticing a trend with these people and not answering questions. He sighed and walked over to the comfortable looking bed, pulling his borrowed jacket off and climbing in, not bothering with the sweatpants. The lamp on his bedside table was perfectly in reach once he was comfortably under the blankets, so he reach over and flicked it off.  
The room was bathed in darkness, something Ichigo was not used to after years of sleeping on the streets. He was used to the roar of a truck or the lights of a shop window blaring in his face. Now he covered by the most expensive comforter, lying on a down pillow, and for the first time completely safe. His mind suddenly jumped to Grimmjow and his ice, the burning feeling he had felt. Stark had told him that there were others like him, so Grimmjow was not that much of a surprise. It was the pain the ice had caused him…it was something he never wanted to feel again. He vowed right then and there to avoid that man like the plague, although he knew it would be hard the confined spaces of this house, no matter how nice it was. With a sigh Ichigo shuffled further into the bed and pulled the comforter further over himself, closing his eyes and inviting the sleep he needed to bad to envelope him.

* * *

I have to tell you I am immensly unhappy with this chapter and its the first time that has ever happened to me. But I really want to post something and get this story going cause I have smoe crazy ideas for it so please just bear with me for the time being.

Oh, and I may now have a slight crush on Stark, just saying...

Review please! It truly helps :)


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